Ireland Trip part 2
Hello! Part 2 of the Ireland trip is here for you! If you missed my part 1 you can find it HERE!
So we left off on THURSDAY and late afternoon tea at the castle. AGAIN it was so nice and lovely and if you get the chance to have tea, do it. Just any tea in general. Because tea, I've decided, is was legit people drink. People who take the time to drink things from pots just seem like they are GOING PLACES, AMIRIGHT? There's a level of sophistication with tea that just doesn't exist with coffee. And where there's tea, there's CRUMPETS. Hashtag winning.
Me and my I"M GOING PLACES face
Thursday evening was the wedding Welcome Reception at Durty Nelly's which is right next to the famous Bunratty Castle. The pub happens to date back 1620 which means 400 years of FUNNNNN! It is an Irish landmark so it was very cool to be there!
Two tourists ready for RAINY WEATHER CONDITIONS
This evening was so fun! It was drinks and oysters and bar food and live music and lots of laughs! They had the entire place rented out so we were loving life! It was great getting facetime with the bride and groom before the big day. Plus it was a pre-party to the party which is always a good time.
picturesque!
Irish song books for us to sing-a-long!
FRIDAY was the WEDDING DAY! The ceremony took place about 40 minutes away in Adare at the Holy Trinity Abbey Church. We boarded the bus by 12ish and off we went!
OMG YOU GUYS the ceremony was MAGICAL! It was a Catholic ceremony with a full mass (in Latin!). They had Irish singers who sang beautifully. Complete with strings, piano...basically a legit orchestra! It was so memorable! There was so much love in the air!
The gorgeous bride and handsome groom!!
How happy do they look? So happy!! So beautiful! I love, love!! We couldn't be happier for these two amazing people!
A bride with her maids and their gorgeous dresses!
After the ceremony we went back to the hotel to change for the reception. BLACK TIE, WHAT WHAT. We boarded the bus for the 2 minute drive to the castle. Here we were told to enter under the tree canopy arches and find our butterfly. OUR BUTTERFLY!
As you see my boyfriend there was waiting to hand me my drink. That chick in the shawl thinks shes going to get it first. She was sorely mistaken.
FOUND IT!
Once we got our butterfly place card it was cocktail reception time! I tried to take a lot pic but I was in sensory overload with all the fabulousness!
Now on to the reception which was just gorgeous! Greens and beautiful linens and candles and warmness and flowers and TREES, it was next level!
The little bag on each person's plate contained a handmade blessed rosary!
The beautiful couple!
We were at a great table of people from all over the world! Hong Kong, Cali, Texas! It's so fun to meet new and interesting people.
The cool kids table
The music was amazing (band, dj and Irish singers!), the entertainment (world-class Irish dancers), the speeches (I cried 3x!), and THE FOOD! SO much deliciousness including a MILKSHAKE BAR!
Once the music was going and everyone was on the D floor, a magical milkshake bar appeared. And this is where I parked my pregnant butt for basically the rest of the night. They had so many choices including EDIBLE GOLD FLAKES which OF COURSE I put in my milkshake. Because THAT'S WHAT YOU DO WHEN EDIBLE GOLD IS ON THE MENU.
She's a thing of beauty
My pregnancy dance moves aren't as ON POINT as my regular dance moves, so I didn't dance too much. But you can bet your bottom dollar Joel did!! At wedding receptions he can often be found in the middle of the dance circle, doing one armed push-ups over a beer bottle. It's his SIGNATURE MOVE and it's really his gift to the bride and groom. Nay, his gift to HUMANITY.
LEO DOESN'T HOLD A CANDLE TO JOE-L.
The night ended with more delicious food (late night burgers and fries!) and at about 2 am we rolled into bed. It was a memorable, beautiful, FUN celebration of a great couple!
SATURDAY was our last full day in Ireland and we took full advantage. We checked out of our hotel and drove back to Ennis. There we shopped, walked around and found a Bed & Breakfast to stay in for the night. I'm not a big B&B girl, to be honest. Awkward convo with strangers at the breakfast table is where Joel THRIVES and I just SURVIVE. Usually I like my sleeping arrangements SPACIOUS and ANONYMOUS, but this B&B was super cute.
Next we drove along the coast to visit the Cliffs of Moher. If you ever get a chance to go to Ireland DEFINITELY go to the cliffs. Totally worth it hiking up the giant hill and almost getting blown away. The view was BREATHTAKING.
Places like this remind you of how HUGE the world is and how much beauty God created. It also reminds you that it's completely OK to go to the cliffs looking like this:
because the world is so huge, no one be looking at you anyway.
After this we went back to Ennis, went to mass at the Cathedral and had dinner. We were pretty pooped so it was off to bed early for our flight back to the states!
EVERYDAY IS beautiful! We had such a wonderful trip! I feel lucky we were given the chance to go to Ireland (Thanks LIz & Matt!) and that it worked out to actually happen! (Thanks mom, dad, Laura & Katie!) And thank you sweet Joel whose both an amazing travel partner and wedding guest partner! Some of my proudest wife moments are watching you crush fools on the d floor.
Monday morning was a reality check but of course this sage Irish wisdom held me over! Can't wait to go back to my homeland again one day!
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